


No Regrets

by onthighsbelongtotaemin



Series: P.O.R.N. [1]
Category: SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Boyfriends, Breaking Up & Making Up, Eventual Romance, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Grief/Mourning, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-19 08:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12406767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onthighsbelongtotaemin/pseuds/onthighsbelongtotaemin
Summary: Suddenly Taemin realizes what he’s just done and groans."We were having such a good time! Sorry. Do you have a sad love story you’d like to share?"To his relief, Jinki laughs."A boyfriend from college. We’re friends too. My Jongin, I guess."- Autumn





	No Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to "Precipitation & Other Reasons to get Naked"

Jonghyun does a double-take at the familiar face waving to him from a blessedly empty table.  He walks over slowly, glancing behind himself halfway to make sure he’s the right guy.

“Yes, you!” Jinki calls, laughing that laugh that always made Jonghyun blush.

“I just wanted to be sure,” he murmurs softly, already feeling the warmth in his cheeks.

“So good to see a familiar face!  How are you?”

“Good,” Jonghyun replies as he takes a seat, backpack clutched to his chest.  “Getting settled.”

“How is it being away from your mom?”

Jonghyun feels the blush deepen.

“Hard,” he answers honestly.  “I’ve already called her five times today.” 

Jinki laughs again.

“Well I’ll try to tend to your homesickness as much as I can.”

Jonghyun smiles before biting his lip.

“How’s Francesca handling your absence?”  Jinki snorts & shakes his head.

“ _Six_ calls.”  Jonghyun chuckles.

“Are you in a music club?” he asks, changing the subject.

“I’m thinking about it.  There’s a fraternity that focuses on choral that I might try to rush.”

“Wow.  Good luck.”

“I hear you got a scholarship.”  Jinki wiggles his eyebrows with a grin.

“Just a small one.  Enough to cover tuition & that’s all.”  Jinki’s brow furrows & he frowns.

“Where will you be living?”

“Not sure.  I was supposed to be in the dorms but they filled up before I could get a room.  Right now I’m staying with a friend but…”

“Guests & fish.  Yeah, I know.  We’re looking for a fifth if you don’t mind sharing a bathroom with four other people.”

“I don’t mind.”

~

“Well this is it.”  Jonghyun stands in the doorway of a tiny bedroom crammed with two twin beds, identical dressers, & a tiny window over a pair of desks that looks out onto a grassy yard.

“I didn’t…” 

Jinki’s shrugging, hands in his pockets as Jonghyun’s words trail off.

“Better than the dorms, right?  A lot cheaper, too.”  Jonghyun begins nodding, taking in the decor of the room & smiling when he recognizes a familiar poster.

“We’d be roommates?” he asks, pointing to the marquee poster for “Rock of Ages” stuck to the ceiling over the bed nearest the window.

“If you don’t mind,” Jinki answers, shoulders shrugging again.

“No,” Jonghyun replies, smiling shyly.  “I don’t mind.”

~

They each work nights & take classes late in the morning, lunch breaks in-between that they spend together laughing.  The other house mates come & go, the occasional stranger appearing on the sofa or at the tiny table shoved up against a wall.   Jinki’s quiet & Jonghyun’s been asked more than once by the others if Jinki was mad.  He never is, though, Jonghyun explains: That’s just his face.It’s amicable, though cramped, & the best part is the neat freak who insists on cleaning everything themselves.  And that Jinki lies on a bed just three feet from him.  If he put his legs up, he could reach Jinki’s bed from his own.

Grades arrive & Jinki’s passed his classes & Jonghyun’s scholarship is still secure so they celebrate by being loud at a karaoke bar.  At one point Jinki turns to him with a glittering smile & Jonghyun’s heart drops at the way it begins to race.  No, he thinks, it’s just a reflex, a remnant of a crush from high school that has no place in their friendship now.  So he smiles & throws an arm around his friend, tucks the flutter away & covers it with another round of classic rock covers.

Winter means their mutual suffering under the oppressive darkness.  Jonghyun watches Jinki change all their bulbs & smiles in relief when their room lights up brighter than before.  He watches a few seconds longer before shaking his head in denial & picking up his pen.

Another semester & the end of a school year & now Jonghyun’s leaning against the wall of their bedroom while Jinki sits on his own bed.  Too many lunches, study breaks, karaoke trips & it’s impossible now to say that he’s not in love with his friend & roommate.  And Jinki’s figured out that the last three songs Jonghyun’s penned have been about him.  And now Jonghyun waits quietly with his back against wood to find out just how different his world will be tomorrow morning.

~

Jonghyun wakes up with Jinki’s arm around his waist.  They’re in jeans with bare feet, Jinki still in his tank top & Jonghyun bare chested.  He touches his lips & smiles.

~

A summer of work & savings, of kisses & smiles & the stress & excitement of the arrival of another year of school.  One of the house mates move out & another moves in & now there’s a silent battle between them & the one who insisted the year before over who’ll be in charge of keeping the place clean.  Jonghyun watches Jinki negotiate terms of an armistice between the two & laughs with pride.  The front door closes behind the pair as Jonghyun follows Jinki back down the hall to their room.

“You’re so good at that.”  Jinki’s tugging off his jeans & tossing them into a box he keeps under his bed to save space. 

“Good at what?”

“Settling things.  Calming people down & getting them to think.  You’ll be great as a teacher.”

“I’ve decided to focus on elementary.  I want to teach kindergarten.”

“Wow.  You definitely have the patience for it.”  Jinki smiles as he leans over, giving Jonghyun a kiss.

“Thanks.”

“Um…”  Jonghyun bites his lip as Jinki sits back down, turning to the door that stands closed between them & the empty house.  “I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?” Jinki answers distractedly, grabbing a text book that had fallen to the floor & tossing it behind him onto his desk.

“We…”  Jonghyun can feel his cheeks & ears burn & he’s embarrassed that he’s embarrassed.

“What?”  When he looks back, Jinki’s watching him puzzled, looking over at the door himself & back at Jonghyun.

“We…”  He stops again, sighing in frustration & rubbing one thumb over another anxiously.

“We…”

“Have the house to ourselves.”  Jinki nods slowly, hands bracing on his mattress & heels tucked into the carpet.

“Yes.”

“We could…”  Jinki’s eyes widen in understanding & he licks his lips.

“Are you sure?”

“Well it’s been three months…”

“No, are you sure?”  Jonghyun sighs & braces his own hands on his own mattress, kicking his own heels out onto the carpet so that they rest next to Jinki’s.  He stares at his toes & thinks.

Jinki knows.  Of course, Jinki knows.  Different friends, same school, same town. 

“Maybe…”  The side of Jinki’s foot rubs against his own & he smiles.

“No rush, Jjong.  Really.  OK?”  Jonghyun nods, uncertainly.

“OK.”

~

“Jinki!” Jonghyun cries with a grin, grabbing his boyfriend & stepping up onto his tiptoes to hold the mistletoe above them both.  Jinki laughs into their kiss & laughs harder when Jonghyun spins him around.  Another semester & even better grades.

“Jonghyun,” Jinki replies, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.  Jonghyun licks his lips & wiggles his eyebrows.

“We have the house to ourselves,” he says conspiratorially, empty hand slipping over Jinki’s while the other still holds the mistletoe.  Jinki’s smile turns guarded though hopeful & there’s a bit of both when he acknowledges, “Yes, we do.”

“We could…” Jonghyun leans up on his toes again & whispers the rest into Jinki’s ear, grinning when he sees the gleam in Jinki’s eye as he falls back to his feet.

“Are you sure?”  He tosses the mistletoe onto the entryway table & begins tugging Jinki down the hall with both hands.

“Oh yeah.  Definitely.”

~

The end of the year means the end of finding time alone in the home they share with three other people & finding one to share by themselves.  It’s not as close to campus but it’s not that far away either & it’s actually nearer to Jinki’s job.  They’re twenty now & halfway through their degrees & Jonghyun’s finally sure what he wants to do with his.

“What do you want to call it?”

“Base.”

“Why?”  Jonghyun tilts his head back & forth in thought.

“It has a homey feel to it without being too domestic, if that makes sense.  Life is about running around & when you can finally find a place to rest that’s home.”

“Like the game?”

“Yeah.  Like that.”  Jinki shifts on the sofa & props his elbow up on the back.  He leans his head against a fist & smiles encouragingly.

“Tell me more.”

“Well I’d want live music.”

“Of course.”

“And local drinks.  And maybe local artists as well, hang up their artwork.”

“This sounds a little much for a college town.”

“Maybe,” Jonghyun concedes self-consciously. 

“Find what it is you want it to be.  Whatever you won’t regret doing.”

“Speaking of regrets, are you still getting a tattoo?”  Jinki laughs & pokes Jonghyun’s nose.

“Yes.  Just the two.”

Scripts lie tucked beneath Jinki’s arm by Halloween.  The dragon under Jinki’s arm is finished by his birthday & Jonghyun runs his hand up & down the scales while snow falls outside their bedroom window.

“Just two, huh?”

“OK, three.”

~

“Francesca wants my help to fill out college applications.” 

Jonghyun laughs as he carefully puts down his red dinosaur mug.  As he pours in a thin stream of amaretto creamer into the steaming coffee, he remarks, “You don’t sound excited.”  He turns in time to see Jinki shrug, fingers tapping on his own white ceramic cup. 

“I am.  It’s just…” 

Jonghyun sits down, eyebrow raised & a knowing smile tucked behind his steaming drink.  “Just…”  A sigh blows from his boyfriend’s lips, head tilting to the side.

“My baby cousin is growing up.”  The mug in Jonghyun’s hand makes a soft clattering sound as it’s placed on the table.  He slips a hand over Jinki’s wrist & squeezes.

“Happens.”

“Yeah.  It’s just…”  Another eyebrow raise.

“What?”

“Why is she dragging me with her?”  Jonghyun squeezes Jinki’s wrist again as he bursts out laughing, shaking his head.

“Insolent youth.”  Jinki nods with a good-humored smile.

~

 Jonghyun looks up from his text book, green highlighter in hand.

“How’s Francesca?”  Jinki’s eyes grow wide & he wiggles his eyebrows as he slips his phone onto the messy counter. 

“She met someone.”

“Really?”  Jinki nods, leaning up against the counter.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“On the bus.”  Jonghyun snorts & drops his highlighter, wiggling around so that his back is pressed against the sofa.

“Wow.  What’s their name?”

“She doesn’t know yet.”

“Wait…what?”  Jinki shrugs with a grin.

“At this point she’s ‘pretty girl who buys newspapers’ & Francesca wishes their tongues were tied.” 

Jonghyun bursts out laughing so hard that he hits his knee on the heavy coffee table & his elbow on the sofa.  As he rubs his elbow with a soothing palm, he continues to laugh.

“Oh my god!”

“Yeah.  So, at this stage it’s very much love from afar.”

“I look forward to their happy ending.”

“So does Francesca.”

~

“Pretty girl officially has a name!” Jinki calls from the entryway, door slamming behind him & shoes falling dully to the floor.

“Yay!  A day for celebration!” Jonghyun cries from the bedroom.  “What is it?”  He listens to Jinki’s socked feet shuffle up the hallway to their room.  It’s dark with the heavy curtains drawn & no lights.  Jinki gently climbs up on the bed & rubs at Jonghyun’s shoulder.

“You OK?” he asks, his voice much quieter than before.  Jonghyun nods with his eyes closed. 

“Just a little headache.  Glad winter is finally beginning to let up.”

“We’re in the middle of the season,” Jinki points out with a soft smile.

“The days are growing longer.  Actual sunshine.  That’s all I ask.”

“Except today.”  Jonghyun nods & turns so that he’s hugging Jinki’s bicep.

“Except today.  Now tell me more about ‘pretty girl’.”

~

“First kiss!”  Jonghyun looks over his shoulder from the spaghetti cooking on the stove.

“Woo-hoo!” he cries, fist pumping as Jinki kicks off his shoes.  “Details!  Details!”

“Back door just before they closed,” Jinki says with a kiss.  “Francesca waved good-bye from the sidewalk.  We’re both amazed she made it home.”

“That’s so romantic!”

“Not as romantic as finding my man in the kitchen with real food cooking.”

Jonghyun smiles as he turns around, back pressing to Jinki’s chest as he listens to his boyfriend ask him about his day.

~

“How are FranNi doing?” 

Jinki pauses in the kitchen, halfway to the refrigerator with a carton of milk in one hand & the other outstretched to open the door.  He looks over his shoulder to where Jonghyun sits in the living room.

“Who?”

“The love story.”  Jinki’s eyebrows furrow in confusion & he turns back to put the milk away.

“The wha…Francesca & Nini?”

“Yes.”

“You gave them a couple’s name?”  Jonghyun pouts uncomfortably from the sofa as Jinki closes the fridge door & looks at him, brows still furrowed.

“It’s cute.”

“Do we have a couple’s name?”  Momentarily thrown, Jonghyun shrinks in himself shyly.

“That’s…that’s not the topic.  Couple’s names aren’t the topic, Jinki.  FranNi is.  Francesca & Nini.” 

Jinki’s head tilts to one side & he begins to walk toward Jonghyun who shrinks even further into the corner of the sofa.

“You do, don’t you?”

“Tell me about Francesca.”

“What is it?”

“How is her love story unfolding?”

“Jonghyun…”

“Jinki, I-” Jinki’s crouched over him, one arm braced on the back of the sofa & the other on the armrest just above Jonghyun’s head & their faces are only inches apart.

“What is it?”

“What is what?”

“Jonghyun…”

“Jinki…”  He giggles with embarrassment as Jinki begins to peck him with tiny kisses, little brushes of his lips in spots he knows Jonghyun’s sensitive to.  Through laughter, he gasps “Stop!  Stop!  Stop!”, catching his breath as Jinki leans back.  Still hovering, he raises his eyebrows & waits.

“It’s JinJong.”

“JinJong?” Jinki repeats incredulously.  “That sounds like a doorbell.”

“Well I like it,” Jonghyun mutters with a frown.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Jinki murmurs, kissing both edges of his boyfriend’s frown, “Just that it sounds like a doorbell.”  Jonghyun laughs when one of Jinki’s hands slips down to his side & tickles his rib.  He opens his mouth when he feels Jinki’s tongue against his lip. 

The hand at his side begins moving up, underneath his shirt.  He slips his arm around Jinki’s neck & grips at his hair.  Jinki moves & Jonghyun throws a leg across the back of Jinki’s thigh to keep him there, rolling his hips & smiling when Jinki groans.

Desires are whispered in Jinki’s ear & Jonghyun shrieks with delight when Jinki blows a raspberry at his neck, dashing down the hall & reappearing with a smile.  Another kiss & then another.  And then a few more.

Jonghyun wakes up with a crick in his neck & Jinki on his chest & a memory that makes him giggle.

~

“Plans with Nini fell through.  Francesca wants to know if you can join us for lunch.”  Jonghyun groans, elbows hitting the counter as he pouts.

“No, I have to work.  Can she join us for dinner?”

“Maybe,” Jinki says with a shrug.  “Though I think her parents want her back home early.”

“Text me if she can.  I haven’t seen her in so long.”

~

Jonghyun rushes to Jinki when he finally finds him at the hospital, an hour too late to be of any comfort while unspoken farewells glisten down his cheeks.  He pulls him into his arms & holds him tight & whispers apologies for being late & for life being unbearably cruel.  There are hands at his waist & Jinki’s tears dampen his shoulder, back shaking in racking sobs & Jonghyun holds him a little tighter.

He drives them back home hours later, the streets black without a moon & lights doing little to quell the darkness.  Jinki goes straight to bed & falls asleep, exhausted from tears & angry at the world.  Jonghyun tugs off Jinki’s forgotten shoes & covers him with a blanket.  A hand rests against the small of Jinki’s back in the dark of their bed, an anchor in the storm.

~

He’s there when Jinki calls the girl they’d been talking about for months but that neither had ever met.  He’s there when they finally see her face & hear her voice for themselves.  He’s there as Jinki stares blankly at a casket.  He’s there when the casket disappears into the earth.

He’s there when they get home but he doesn’t know where Jinki is.  He’s spoken words but they’ve all been wooden & rehearsed, returns of attention that require no attention to give.  Now Jinki sits at the table & he takes a seat beside him, hands him a cup of tea & waits.

The tea sits cold at the table & Jinki disappears without a word.

~

A month goes by & nothing much changes.  The semester ends & they still have jobs & now Jonghyun’s hours are spent learning how to be a bartender.  He works late & gets home even later, watches Jinki watching walls & tries to give him space. 

~

“It was just here!”

“No, you put it in the drawer last time.  Look-” Jonghyun gasps as Jinki screams, a hole suddenly in their wall that wasn’t there a second ago.  He looks between it & Jinki’s clenched fist & tries to catch his breath.  Jinki falls to the floor, head in his hands & wracking sobs shaking his body.  Jonghyun looks at the wall once more before moving across the room & dropping to his knees, grabbing Jinki by the shoulders & holding him as tightly as he can.

“Nothing beats pain like more pain,” he says softly.  “Especially pain we can control.”

~

Jonghyun watches the clip a third time.  A little girl pressing the paw of a stuffed bear, face lighting up when it’s her daddy’s voice.  Maybe, maybe…

~

The breaths of his lungs echo loudly in Jonghyun’s ears, a dystopian quiet that has whittled down everything good into a hollow black.  He watches Jinki, watches the flex of his jaw & the clench of his fist & how the minute rise & fall of his chest give the only clues that he is still physically alive.  He reaches out a hand to place over his boyfriend’s & licks his lips when it is immediately withdrawn.  The hand he barely touched now sits clenched on Jinki’s knee & the rise & fall of his chest continues.

Dinner is quick & silent, Jonghyun’s stilted attempts at conversation aborted at the lack of response; no words & Jinki won’t even look at him.  Afterward, Jinki disappears without a word, jacket tossed over his shoulder & the door closed before Jonghyun can even ask where he’s going.  The hours pass achingly slow & it’s dark & cold when the door opens again. 

If Jinki were drunk it would make sense, Jonghyun would understand the scent of any numbing thing.  There isn’t.  He smells of Jinki & earth, nothing more.  Which means Jonghyun doesn’t know where he’s been.

At least he doesn’t smell of anyone else.

~

“Jinki,” Jonghyun calls from his perch in the bed, naked on his stomach with a sheet tossed haphazardly across one leg.   His knuckles dig into his chin as he rests his head against his fingers, listening to the sound of Jinki moving around the bathroom & the sudden burst of water as the shower starts.  He keeps his eyes on the door & wonders if now is the right time.  Jinki hasn’t said anything or done anything to give any indication & in either case there’s a gift waiting in a box in the back of a closet that should be put into his boyfriend’s hands.

The frown on his boyfriend’s face when he leans against the frame & dully asks, “What?” changes his mind & instead he only shakes his head. 

“Nothing.”

He sighs as Jinki disappears again.

~

Jonghyun watches silently from the corner as Jinki slams another ceramic mug to the floor.  His knees are tucked under his chin & his arms are wrapped around his shins, bare feet with toes wiggling anxiously in the carpet.  A cupboard door joins the shattered wake of pieces that once held form, once held nourishment.  He sighs & waits for the storm to calm.

Another hour and Jinki’s tirade is finally waning.  Jonghyun’s awake but he’s exhausted & he hasn’t moved since this episode began nearly two hours ago.  Tonight’s the end, he’s decided, he knows.  Watching Jinki implode is painful enough but knowing that he’s useless to help him heal slices at his heart.

There it is, he thinks, the cue that it’s safe to take Jinki in his arms, the moment that his rage fractures to harrowing sorrow & the tears fall & his back shakes.  He lets the moment pass in silence, stays where he’s seated.  If Jinki comes to him he’ll stay.  If Jinki keeps to his side of the war zone then he’ll leave.  Another slice as he watches Jinki slide to the floor, head in his hands & shoulders shaking.

“Just go, Jonghyun,” he mutters.

 Another slice but Jonghyun doesn’t cry.  The pain is too great & his tears, that seemed bountiful before true grief, have evaporated. 

They sit in the silence, in another calm that will heat into a rage that will leave everything in its wake as broken as Jinki is right now.  As broken as Jonghyun will be if he doesn’t leave.  They’re both so young but they feel so old.  Truth tied to death ages the soul & when a life is ripped away it takes a piece of the mourners with it.  Jinki’s lost a piece of himself & Jonghyun can’t fill that void, can’t even wrap it in love & let it settle into a scar that will fade.

“I will.  Tomorrow.”

Jinki nods and they sit in silence, the embers of their love fading in the dark of Jinki’s grief.

He leaves in the dark of the morning & the gift that had lain hidden in a closet now sits on the table upon which they used to eat their meals.  Another form of nourishment, maybe.  A piece of himself &, more importantly, Francesca.

~

He finds a new roommate, a woman this time, & he gets to work on the last year of his degree.  A few times he spots Jinki on campus & he wants to say ‘Hi’, wants to see how he’s doing.  But he doesn’t.  And he hopes he won’t regret it.

Work & school & work & school & piecing back together a broken heart through it all.  It’s not until the last day of classes, as he packs up old text books that he finds the note from Jinki with the $200 & sits on the floor of his room crying for three hours.

“No regrets” are the only words he can read through his tears.  There’s a little more, words of encouragement & love & friendship.  He cries & cries & cries until he can’t anymore.

~

He’s not ready when Jinki calls with an apology & a warm laugh.

~

“Oh, god” Jonghyun groans out, a breath caught in his throat as he braces a hand against the back of the sofa.  He bounces on Jinki’s lap, fingers gripping his hips & his own running through his hair.  It’s not fair & it’s too fast & he’s too invested in having Jinki stay to acknowledge either truths.  And it’s his fault that they’re here.  He’s the one who suggested they meet up & he’s the one who slid into Jinki’s lap & wrapped his arms around a familiar neck.

It’s a mistake, he thinks, almost as soon as it’s over.  A mistake, a mistake, a mistake.  It echoes through his head when they kiss in the shower, & it thrums in his heart when Jinki pulls him close in bed.  He waits until Jinki falls asleep to leave, gathering up his clothes in the blackened bedroom & sprinting to the door before memories of the past can warm the dull of the present.

Three weeks later & three more mistakes & they’re on a sidewalk in the rain when he finally asks Jinki what they’re doing.

“I don’t know,” his ex confesses.  “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”

“I like being with you,” he adds.

“I like being with you too.  But it’s-”

“Different.”

“Yeah.”

They look at each other in confusion with fists in their pockets, Jinki rocking on his heels.

Tentatively, Jonghyun suggests, “We could just see where this goes.”

“OK.”  Jinki nods slowly.  “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“OK.”  Jinki keeps nodding & Jonghyun keeps watching.  “I never opened your gift.”

“Oh.”  Jonghyun’s taken aback, not sure what he’s supposed to say.

“Should I?”

“It…I don’t know.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“I didn’t want to take something from you after…taking something from you.”  Jonghyun sighs, shoulders slumping.

“I want you to have it.”

“Come with me?  I’d like to open it with you there.”  Jonghyun hesitates & then nods.

“OK.”

~

_“Oppa! Oppa! I got Nini’s number today! She’s going out of town for a few weeks but she said she’d stop by on the 21st & we’ll go to Chilly Bean’s for coffee. I’m so excited! Oh! There’s my bus! Love you!” _

The message clicks off, leaving the room suddenly barren & silent.  Jonghyun watches as Jinki swallows & licks his lips, eyes on his shoes still damp from the rain.  They’re on the floor by the door & Jonghyun’s not sure how they got here.  But he sits on his knees beside Jinki & watches quietly as he takes another swallow & presses the palm of the little vampire again.

_“Happy Birthday Oppa!”_

Three more messages play, Francesca’s voice filling the apartment with vibrancy & youth.  A tear drops against Jinki’s knee & he’s biting his lip hard enough to turn it white.  Suddenly Jonghyun’s grabbing the wall & the small of Jinki’s back, doing his best to keep from falling over with the weight of his friend’s hug pushing him back. 

Tears drop against his neck & dampen his shoulder & he cries himself when he hears the whispered “Thank you” at his ear. 

~

Another three weeks & they laugh under the sheets, naked & sharing a bowl of ice cream with one spoon as they listen to Jinki’s upstairs neighbors fight over fiscus plants.

“My money is on the loud one.”

“I’ll take that bet.  By the way, I like the new tattoo.”  Jinki’s chest is warm beneath the fingers that brush over Francesca’s name.  He’s meeting Taeyeon on Saturday.

Jinki pats at his fingers absently, reticent as he nearly always is now when it comes to Francesca.  As long as it’s not a quiet before a storm, Jonghyun’s willing to take the silence.  He rests his head on Jinki’s shoulder & waits to see who’ll win their bet.

 

~Five Years Later~

“My boyfriend is so hot,” Jonghyun murmurs dreamily. 

“How hot is he?”  He laughs as he bumps Jinki with his shoulder, eyes never leaving the man standing at the mic.  A mesh top lay beneath a leather jacket & his hair was bleached & liner thick.  Key knew how to make a statement.

“How are things with you?  Taeyeon says you have a crush.”

“I just met the guy once.”

“So you dooo have a crush!  Oooh!”  Jonghyun makes obnoxious kissing noises, eyes still locked on Key.

“Maybe.  We’ll see how it goes.”  He turns to walk away, hindered by the sudden tug of his sleeve by Jonghyun’s hand.

“Hey.  No regrets, right?”

“Yeah,” Jinki murmurs, watching his friend’s boyfriend burn the stage.  “No regrets.”

 

~One Year After That~

Jonghyun looks up at the sound of the door opening, far too early for customers.  He smiles when he recognizes Jinki & he grins when he sees the guy beside him shyly duck his head.  He steps out from behind the bar & stretches out his hand to the only other man that knows about Jinki’s greatest heartbreak.

“Hi.  I’m Jonghyun.”  

There’s a brief pause & he catches the way Jinki squeezes his boyfriend’s hand.  Then there’s a smile and a hand in his own.

“Hi.  I’m Taemin.”


End file.
